New advance in prostate cancer managementAugust 10, 2005Scientists from The Institute of Cancer Research have developed a technique which will markedly help in predicting the behaviour of prostate cancer. At present, prostate cancer tests - needle biopsies, blood and urine samples-are unable to accurately predict how aggressive the cancer is and whether it is likely to progress, resulting in thousands of men undergoing radical preventative surgery which may be unnecessary. A study-published online today in the British Journal of Cancer*-describes a simple and highly reliable technique, known as the 'Checkerboard Tissue Microarray (TMA) Method' which can be carried out on prostate cancer needle biopsies. The Checkerboard TMA Method looks for multiple markers of various genes associated with prostate cancer, including the E2F3 gene. Overexpression of the E2F3 gene, first identified at The Institute of Cancer Research, is a marker of how aggressive the prostate cancer will be.
The new technique will allow the investigation of an enormous untapped resource of clinical specimens obtained at the time of diagnosis of cancer, in order to identify markers of the cancer's aggressiveness. The technique will be pivotal in developing a test for prostate cancer aggressiveness which may ultimately prevent thousands of men undergoing unnecessary surgery, with its often associated severe side effects including incontinence and impotence. "This represents a real advance for the future management of prostate cancer," said Professor Colin Cooper, The Grand Charity of Freemasons' Chair of Molecular Biology at The Institute of Cancer Research. "Eventually we hope to be able to distinguish the tigers-aggressive tumours requiring treatment-from the pussycats-non aggressive tumours which can be monitored for many years without treatment. Ultimately this could prevent thousands of men from having to undergo radical surgery, which can have devastating effects on their day to day lives." Prostate cancer is now the most common cancer to affect men in the UK. More than 30,000 men in the UK are diagnosed with the disease and almost 10,000 men die from the disease each year. Professor Peter Rigby, Chief Executive at The Institute of Cancer Research comments: "This demonstrates the real progress we are making in the field of prostate cancer research. Since discovering the E2F3 gene as a marker of prostate cancer aggressiveness our research team has been committed to developing a test for the gene. The development of this technique is a significant step forward in prostate cancer management and should ultimately improve thousands of men's lives." The Institute of Cancer Research | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Related Prostate Cancer Current Events and Prostate Cancer News Articles Drop in cancer deaths tied primarily to gains in behavior and screening Improvements in behavior and screening have contributed greatly to the 13 percent decline in cancer mortality since 1990, with better cancer treatments playing a supporting role, according to new research from David Cutler of Harvard University. Prostate cancer spurs new nerves Prostate cancer - and perhaps other cancers - promotes the growth of new nerves and the branching axons that carry their messages, a finding associated with more aggressive tumors, said researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in the first report of the phenomenon that appears today in the journal Clinical Cancer Research. Relationship between prostate information and lower urinary-tract symptoms evident In the December issue of European Urology (http://www.elsevier.com/locate/eururo) Dr. Curtis Nickel and associates report on the evidence of a relationship between prostate inflammation and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in men enrolled in the REDUCE trial. A card-swipe for medical tests University of Utah scientists successfully created a sensitive prototype device that could test for dozens or even hundreds of diseases simultaneously by acting like a credit card-swipe machine to scan a card loaded with microscopic blood, saliva or urine samples. Media coverage of lung cancer is increasing, and increasingly negative, new report shows CancerCare today announced that despite an overall increase in news reporting on lung cancer, the overall tone of lung cancer media coverage has become significantly more negative. Supercomputer provides massive computational boost to biomedical research at TGen In less time than the blink of an eye, the Translational Genomics Research Institute's new supercomputer at Arizona State University can do operations equal to every dollar in the recent Wall Street bailout. Prostate cancer gene test provides new early detection Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most common male cancers in the Western world. Currently, early detection of PCa depends on an abnormal digital rectal examination and an elevated prostate-specific-antigen (PSA) level requiring a prostate biopsy, often associated with anxiety, discomfort, complications, and heavy expenses. New Catheter-less Technique May Ease the Pain and Discomfort of Prostate Cancer Recovery To ease the pain of recovery following prostate cancer surgery, physician-scientists have developed an innovative and patient-friendly approach that eliminates the use of a penile urinary catheter. Racial disparities decline for cancer in Missouri Cancer death rates in the United States are highest among African Americans, but a new report shows that in Missouri the disparity in cancer incidence and death between African Americans and whites is declining. OHSU Cancer Institute researchers study breathing during radiation Oregon Health & Science University researchers have determined exactly how much breathing affects prostate movement during radiation treatment. More Prostate Cancer Current Events and Prostate Cancer News Articles |
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